- Feb 28, 2009
- 19,373
- 5,583
A Covenant of Salt
By Susan E. Todd
April, 2003
(2 Chronicles 13:5) "Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?"
The phrase "covenant of salt" is mentioned three times in the Scriptures. That's a trinity. That means God is in it somehow. Let's see if we can find out what He wants to teach us about salt. The other two references are:
(Numbers 18:19) "All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee." and (Leviticus 2:13) "And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt."
God made covenants with people using unusual objects.
With Noah He used a rainbow.
(Genesis 9:15-17) "And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."
With Abraham He used the stars.
(Genesis 15:5,18) "And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:"
With Moses He used tablets of stone.
(Exodus 34:28) "And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments."
With David it was salt.
(2 Chronicles 13:5) "Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?"
What is salt? By definition it is: A substance used for seasoning certain kinds of food, and for the preservation of meat.
For what purpose was it made?
To season: To render palatable, or to give a higher relish to, by the addition or mixture of another substance more pungent or pleasant; as, to season meat with salt.
To preserve: To save from decay. Salt is used to preserve meat.
To cure: To dry; to prepare for preservation; as, to prepare by salt, or in any manner, so as to prevent speedy purification.
Why is salt important in a Christian's life?
Jesus said in Matthew 5:13a, "Ye are the salt of the earth:" What did He mean?
The Bible teaches us that we, as Christians, are to be salt in the world. We are to be a seasoning, a preservative and a cure in a world full of sin and hatred toward God and the things of God.....
CONT...
By Susan E. Todd
April, 2003
(2 Chronicles 13:5) "Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?"
The phrase "covenant of salt" is mentioned three times in the Scriptures. That's a trinity. That means God is in it somehow. Let's see if we can find out what He wants to teach us about salt. The other two references are:
(Numbers 18:19) "All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee." and (Leviticus 2:13) "And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt."
God made covenants with people using unusual objects.
With Noah He used a rainbow.
(Genesis 9:15-17) "And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."
With Abraham He used the stars.
(Genesis 15:5,18) "And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:"
With Moses He used tablets of stone.
(Exodus 34:28) "And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments."
With David it was salt.
(2 Chronicles 13:5) "Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?"
What is salt? By definition it is: A substance used for seasoning certain kinds of food, and for the preservation of meat.
For what purpose was it made?
To season: To render palatable, or to give a higher relish to, by the addition or mixture of another substance more pungent or pleasant; as, to season meat with salt.
To preserve: To save from decay. Salt is used to preserve meat.
To cure: To dry; to prepare for preservation; as, to prepare by salt, or in any manner, so as to prevent speedy purification.
Why is salt important in a Christian's life?
Jesus said in Matthew 5:13a, "Ye are the salt of the earth:" What did He mean?
The Bible teaches us that we, as Christians, are to be salt in the world. We are to be a seasoning, a preservative and a cure in a world full of sin and hatred toward God and the things of God.....
CONT...